Israel's outgoing army chief on Friday warned against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition to grant more control to pro-settler lawmakers and make other changes to the Israeli security establishment, joining a loud chorus of criticism against the new right-wing government.
In several interviews with Israeli news outlets just days before he steps down, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi took unusually sharp aim at Netanyahu's coalition agreements with hard-line Jewish settler activists who seek to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank, restructure the Defence Ministry and control a special paramilitary police unit.
"This is likely to cause damage and adversely affect our preparedness for war,” Kochavi told the Israeli news site Ynet.
While the coalition deals have sparked furore from many segments of Israeli society, Kochavi's worries have deep significance.
Among Jewish Israelis, the military is considered an emblem of stability and among the country's most trusted institutions.
Kochavi expressed particular concern about the coalition's plans to create three separate sources of authority in the West Bank.
Netanyahu's deal with Bezalel Smotrich gave the powerful, right-wing finance minister control over an Israeli military body that regulates planning for Israeli settlements and Palestinian construction in parts of the West Bank where Israel maintains civilian control.
Smotrich is an advocate of the outright annexation of parts of the West Bank that the Palestinians want for their hoped-for independent state.
“There cannot be two commanding authorities (in the West Bank),” Kochavi said. “The separation between us is not good and may cause damage and lead to a worse situation for all populations.”